The Republic of Korea (RoK) has been considered one of the mostpotential export markets for Vietnam’s aquatic products, especiallyafter the two countries sign a free trade agreement in May.

Vietnam’s aquatic product exports to the East Asian country havemaintained stable growth over the past five years. In 2013, the RoK wasthe fifth biggest importer of Vietnamese aquatic products, just behindthe US, Japan, the European Union (EU) and China, accounting for 7.6percent of the market share. The nation climbed to fourth position oneyear later, with 8.6 percent of the market share.

The RoK hasbeen also the biggest importer of Vietnamese seafood such as cuttlefish,octopus and fried fish. In the first five months of 2015, Vietnam’scuttlefish and octopus exports to the Rok reached 63.7 million USD, up1.1 percent against the same period last year.

RegardingVietnam’s opportunities for aquatic product exports to the RoK, theVietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said,from early 2016, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the country will enjoynumerous preferential incentives, including tariff eliminations, downfrom the current 20 percent, with a quota of 10,000 tonnes.

Shrimp exports to the country brought home 317.8 million USD in 2014, a 41.3 percent increase from 2013.
To fully exploit this market, however, VASEP recommends Vietnameseexporters to ensure food hygiene and the quality of aquatic products,especially the requirements of origin.-VNA